Mercedes boss Toto Wolff wants Mick Schumacher to earn ‘permanent seat’‬ in F1

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff reckons Mick Schumacher has everything needed to be a good F1 driver and find a permanent seat on the grid.

The young German made his debut in F1 in 2021 with Haas, After an underwhelming second season, where he was outscored by his teammate Kevin Magnussen, Schumacher was released and replaced with Nico Hulkenberg.

He was picked up by Mercedes as their reserve driver and will do essential simulator work for the German team. In a recent media call, as quoted by Sport Bild in Germany, Wolff said that Schumacher could end up having a path similar to Nyck de Vries.

The Dutch driver was part of Mercedes as a reserve driver but when the opportunity came, he was let go and allowed to sign with AlphaTauri. Wolff said that the same could happen with Schumacher too, saying:

“I think if you give him a safe environment to develop, he can become a good racer in a permanent seat. Just as we let Nyck de Vries go to make a career for himself, the same could happen with Mick. Whether it’s with our team or somewhere else. We don’t know yet. The most important factor is his personality. He is a well-mannered, intelligent and talented young man. If you look at his junior career, he was very good.”

Schumacher (12) finished a lowly 16th in the driver standings last season.

---

Toto Wolff outlines Mick Schumacher Mercedes role

Toto Wolff said that the German's experience of driving the new generation of cars could come in handy, as also his knowledge of the tires. He said:

“He will contribute a lot by driving the new car for a year. He’s already been in Formula 1 for two years, knows the tyres and the difficulties of the current generation cars. He will be super helpful in the simulator and also in judging the car."

He continued:

"It will help us to have him at the track in the debriefing room, for example. He is an incredible young driver. That’s why we definitely have a gain with Mick in our team.”

For now, it's tough to see where Schumacher could find himself on the grid next season. There aren't too many openings that could be exploited, so it will be interesting to see if he finds a seat in 2024.